Connor Treacy '10 is SUNY Potsdam men's hockey's most prolific scorer in last 30 years. The forward was a three-time All-SUNYAC honoree and helped the Bears to three postseason appearances.
The Markham, Ontario native was the youngest of five children and grew up in an athletic family. They started him young.
"I've played ever since I can remember," said Treacy. "I was wearing skates at three. We were playing lacrosse and baseball by four years old. That's just something we did. My mom's father, my grandfather Brett Sullivan, played and coached in the NHL. So, certainly hockey was in our blood, along with a lot of other sports as well. I just started playing because my older brothers were playing."
It was hockey in the winter and lacrosse, baseball and golf in the summer. By the time Treacy was 17 he had to choose in which direction to go.
"Hockey was my passion," Treacy said. "Still is my passion. I'm in love with the game. Always have been. So, at that point in time, it was a pretty easy decision for me to follow the hockey path as opposed to the lacrosse path."
Treacy played high school hockey at St. Brother André Catholic. He played for the Markam Waxers at the Midget level and then played Junior A Tier II for the Wexford Raiders and the Markham Waxers. He gained confidence and strength while getting experience on the ice and college coaches came calling.
"I went on a lot of different visits to schools," said Treacy. "A couple Division I schools. But, as time went on, I think Division III was certainly more my speed. There were a couple different SUNYAC schools that I visited. But ultimately, I visited Potsdam. And just got a good feeling from Coach (Glenn) Thomaris at the time. There was some opportunity there to show some talent and some ability to play right away. And that's kind of why I ended up choosing Potsdam."
Treacy was on campus in the Fall of 2006 preparing for his first season with the Bears.
"I certainly went in there very determined and focused to make a mark on things right away," Treacy said. "As far as feeling comfortable, it was a great group of guys when I arrived there, especially the older guys. They just kind of made us younger guys feel comfortable. So that certainly helped. And when I got on the ice, for captains' skates and got comfortable with things, I realized pretty quickly that I think I could be a difference maker right away."
The Bears opened the season at home against Neumann in Maxcy Ice Arena on October 21. Down 2-0, Treacy scored late in the first period for his first collegiate goal.
"I certainly remember my first goal," Treacy said. It was my roommate at the time, John Southwick. He had a nice little snapshot from the point. I tipped it in."
The next night against Neumann, Treacy added two more assists. Multiple point games became a trend for the forward. He had seven games of two or more points as a freshman. He finished the season second on the team in scoring with 24 points on 13 goals and 11 assists. He gives his linemates credit for his strong start.
"I played on a line that year with Luke Beck and Ryan McCarthy," Treacy said. "Luke Beck is one of my good pals still to this to this day. We played together for three years. I was certainly lucky to play with Luke. He was a really good player, high IQ, really good playmaker. And Ryan McCarthy was also a real standout player. So to play with those two guys freshman year, and to perform the way we did throughout the year, that garnered myself a lot of confidence going into my second year."
The Bears had a coaching change prior to the 2007-08 season, as Thomaris was replaced with a former Bears assistant Aaron Saul. Treacy felt he had proved himself to his coach as a freshman. Now he'd have to do it all over as a sophomore. He was up to the challenge and enjoyed playing for Saul.
"Aaron was a really good hockey coach," said Treacy. "Probably one of my favorite coaches I've had to this day. To play for Aaron for two years was a lot of fun and I feel lucky to have to have played for him. I still keep in touch with him. We had a couple really good teams those two years, good players. Aaron instilled the confidence in me that sophomore and junior year to kind of go out there and do my thing. He put me in a lot of good positions to succeed. And luckily, I was able to take advantage of that."
As a sophomore, Treacy matched his 24 points on eight goals and 16 assists to lead the team in scoring. He had another eight multiple point games. The Bears increased their win total by five and reached the playoffs after a year's absence. Treacy had two assists in the regular season finale as Potsdam upset Plattsburgh 4-2. At home against Cortland in the first round of the playoffs, Treacy scored a goal and had an assist in a 7-2 laugher. His consistently strong play earned him an Honorable Mention All-SUNYAC nod.
"That was that was a huge honor," Treacy said. "It's rewarding to know that the work that you've put in is starting to pay off. Any good hockey athlete, when you have confidence, it's a dangerous thing. And winning that conference award only allowed me to gain a little bit more confidence and to tell myself that we can be pretty successful."
Building on his first two seasons, Treacy and his teammates appeared ready to break out in 2008-09.
"We had a really good group," said Treacy. "We had a group that really liked being around one another. We had a fun group, but we also had a group that really dialed in and worked hard at the same time. We were feeling good about ourselves coming off my sophomore year. We started to realize that we got a pretty good team here. As time went on we just started to get more comfortable with one another. We had some really good players. And along with being well coached, that kind of allowed us to be successful that year."
Treacy started the season red hot, with six points in his first three games. He continued to produce as the year went on. However, the Bears struggled as a team and found themselves just 3-9-3 after a loss to Elmira on January 8. Things turned around the next weekend. Potsdam opened a two-game series at home against Western New England on January 16. The hosts flattened the visiting Golden Bears 8-1 and 7-2. Treacy had four assists in the two contests. It was the beginning of a 6-2-2 finish to the regular season, that included a 4-2 road upset of Oswego. The Bears fell 3-1 at Brockport in the playoffs with Treacy scoring their lone goal. He finished the season with a career-high 40 points on 20 goals and 20 assists, with nine multiple point games and claimed first team all-conference honors.
Treacy was a successful student-athlete, but he was enjoying his whole Potsdam experience.
"We always had a really tight knit group," Treacy said. "We worked hard, but we also played hard at the same time, safely. Always hanging out and the fun part about it was we always lived in the dorms. The Canadian kids lived in these big suites. There were six or eight of us that lived together, just hanging out constantly and eating together. Lehman Dining Hall was always a big stop for us after practice every day. We'd go about 7 or 8 and just hang out there for hours. We'd just chat about the day and chat about hockey. I absolutely loved every aspect of Potsdam, not only hockey."
Before Treacy's senior season, Saul left to take the head coaching position at his alma mater, Elmira. It was a blow to a program that was about to have its third head coach in four seasons.
"To say I was disappointed with Coach Saul leaving would be an understatement," said Treacy. "Because we had such a great relationship. We had such a great team. He was such a great coach. I really liked him and where things were going with the team. I probably didn't handle it the best at the time, when he told me the news, probably being young and a little immature. I didn't look at the big picture. As the years went on, I kind of matured more and realized, obviously he had to do what was right for his family. But that being said, it was it was something I was used to, getting a new a new coach."
The new coach was Chris Bernard. He inherited a relatively veteran team with Treacy returning as his top scorer. Potsdam started slowly but not Treacy. He opened 2009-10 with a career-high four points on a goal and three assists against Brockport. He continued to put up big numbers until the team started to click midseason. The Bears reached the playoffs for the third straight year. Treacy had another nine multi-point contests and finished with 38 points on 11 goals and 27 assists. He capped his collegiate career with another first team All-SUNYAC honor.
In 102 career games, Treacy scored 52 goals and assisted on 74 for 126 career points. He finished his time at Potsdam ranked seventh in points, seventh in assists and 10th in goals.
Treacy graduated that May with a degree in History. He spent the next year and a half playing hockey for a Belgian team. The experience allowed him and his future wife Shannon (Potsdam Class of 2008) to tour Europe while he played. The couple was married in 2012 and moved to Shannon's hometown of Syracuse.
Once in Syracuse, Treacy was looking for a way to stay in hockey. So he reached out to Brendon Knight, a Potsdam alum and former assistant coach. Knight was an assistant for the women's program at Syracuse University. He put Treacy in touch with the Orange men's club team that was in the process of hiring a new coaching staff. Treacy became an assistant coach with the team in 2014. He coached the program until 2021, eventually becoming head coach. In 2018, he led SU to its first ever ESCHL Tournament Championship. While he was coaching, he was also working his regular job, selling commercial furniture for Syracuse Office Environments. When he and Shannon had their first daughter Molly, now six, he decided to leave his coaching position with the Orange. About a year later, they had their second daughter Alice. The two girls have gotten their dad back on the ice.
"We're now on now into their second year of playing hockey," Treacy said. "So lucky for me, I'm back in the rink with them and they're loving playing. So I'm right where I need to be as far as being around the rink."
Treacy's decision to attend Potsdam has transformed his life.
"College was certainly some of the best years of my life," said Treacy. "I met my wife at college. We have two kids together. So, I'm very grateful to Potsdam for that. You know, I wouldn't have the life I have with them today, without going there."
Treacy will join the SUNY Potsdam Athletic Hall of Fame with the rest of the Class of 2026 on Saturday night.
